Grey Nirmala
Nya stood with her arms crossed, glaring at me. Even though we were in the same class, we had only spoken a handful of times, and none of those interactions could be called friendly. That meant there could only be one reason she was talking to me now.
"Do you need something about Raya?"
She paused for a moment, then nodded.
"Haven't you been getting a little too close to her lately?"
I swallowed. Out of all the people who could judge my relationship with Raya, she was the last one I wanted doing it. Still, there was no reason to panic — it wasn't like I'd confessed to Raya yet. The last thing I wanted right now was to be interrogated by the supposed enemy of the girl I liked.
"Have we? I hadn't noticed," I said.
I tried to laugh to lighten the mood, but the sound came out awkward and unnatural. Nya narrowed her eyes, and I had a feeling she thought I was mocking her. She frowned and let out a sigh.
"Anyone with working eyes can see you like her. You do know that, right?"
I could feel my face heating up. For no reason at all, I gave a few fake coughs. At that moment, I would have gladly thrown myself off the roof to escape.
"Look… if you could just not tell anyone, I'd appreciate it."
I tried to make my face look a bit sweeter and more innocent, but it clearly wasn't working. It didn't take long to realize Nya was starting to get annoyed.
"You're an idiot, I'm sure of that. But somehow you still manage to act like you're above everyone else."
"Thank you."
I gave her my most innocent smile, which only served to irritate her further, and she knew it. She sighed again, pulling a pack of mint gum from her pocket. Taking one out, she popped it into her mouth.
"You're so annoying."
"You're the one who wanted to talk to me."
Nya stomped her foot like a child and stormed out of the classroom. I felt a small sense of pride, though I couldn't ignore the slight unease of knowing she had figured out so much about me. Or maybe people weren't as clueless as I thought, and everyone already knew I was the biggest jerk around.
With half an hour left before the first class, I decided to get some peace on the quiet, empty rooftop. The roof was usually locked, but the janitors rarely bothered to secure it in the mornings.
As soon as I stepped outside, the fresh air hit me, and I felt the weight on my shoulders lighten. Still, I wasn't sure what to do. I looked down at the runes on my palms. Both were unusual, and I had no idea what they meant or what to do with them.
Thinking about the runes, the book, and that entity again only confirmed the reality of these supernatural things. But the damn purple particles… what were they? The entity seemed able to gather them, even manipulate them.
I looked up at the sky, as if it might give me an answer. Of course, it didn't. There was only one place I could find those answers.
I left the roof and started heading back toward my classroom, but something — or rather, someone — just had to get in my way.
Walking down the hall, I came face-to-face with possibly the dullest person in the entire world.
"Grey!"
"What do you want, Klein?"
He looked at me with innocent but determined eyes. Why could I never meet normal people?
"Dude, you seriously need to get a friend."
I didn't even look at him. I just shoved past and kept walking.
"Aw, come on, Grey!"
"Sorry, but I'm not interested."
Klein trailed after me, rambling about something or other.
"Grey, sometimes you can be really thoughtless."
I stopped and turned to him. This guy was really starting to get on my nerves.
"Alright, if you're done, please just go away."
Klein pouted. I scowled back. Honestly, maybe we could have been good friends. I laughed quietly to myself. Then again, even I didn't believe that lie.
Klein Cylrit
There was a very clear reason Grey was bullied at school. In fact, what surprised me was how little it actually happened. For someone with his personality, he should have been targeted far more. Of course, the bullying he got now was still a lot, but for Grey, it almost felt… minimal.
I kept following him down the hallway. It didn't take long to realize he was heading toward his classroom. I suspected he wanted to shake me off. I chuckled to myself, though I was pretty sure he heard it, because he shot me a sideways glare.
When we reached his classroom, he didn't even turn around. He just lifted his right hand and flipped me off before heading to his seat.
I was about to leave and head to my own class when I noticed something — tiny purple particles drifting through the air. I looked closer and traced them back to their source. They were coming from Grey's bag.
No, not just from his bag — from above it. One by one, they floated out, gliding through the air like they were dancing. The strangest part was that no one else seemed to notice. Maybe they just hadn't yet, but I didn't believe that. I was certain I was the only one who could see them.
I wanted to step into the classroom to examine the source more closely, but thanks to stupid school fights, the principal had banned students from entering classrooms other than their own. Normally I wasn't much of a rule-follower, but there were at least ten people in there who would throw some insult my way, and the last thing I wanted was to get scolded by a teacher over something so petty.
Still, I crept a single meter into the room, slow and careful so no one would notice me, and kept my eyes on Grey. He was rummaging through his bag, searching for something. Then, whatever he was looking for must have caught the light — because a faint glow began to shine from inside.
And at that moment, I saw something even stranger. Grey's palms had started to glow with the same purple light.
Grey Nirmala
I was digging through my bag, trying to find that cursed book, but it wasn't there. I cursed under my breath, though it wouldn't help. Around me, I could see the purple particles drifting through the air. They were rising from above my bag, yet the book was nowhere to be found. It was as if it was both there and not there at the same time.
Some of the particles floated toward my palms, and I realized they were being absorbed into the runes carved there. Instinctively, I pulled my hands back, but just then, I noticed someone staring at me. Klein's eyes were wide, fixed on my palms.
It was too late to hide them now. Then I noticed something else — Klein wasn't just looking at me. He was looking at the particles as well. He could see them. And if he could see them, he might be able to interact with them. Maybe he knew something I didn't. Maybe I could use him.
A small smile crept onto my face as I walked toward him. Klein seemed uncertain about what to do, and I intended to take advantage of that.
"You know you're not supposed to be in other classrooms, right?" I said.
He took a step back, opening his mouth as if to speak, but closed it again without a word.
"What? Didn't you want to talk to me?"
Klein's eyes weren't on mine; they were still on my palms. That irritated me. The more he knew, the more trouble he could cause — but at the same time, the more useful he could be. All I needed was to find out exactly how much he knew.
He narrowed his eyes and smirked. "Talk? I didn't know you had that kind of ability."
I scowled. He was talking to me like I was some kid he could toy with.
"You know," he said, "I think I saw something in your bag that belongs to me. How about you let me take a look?"
He moved toward my bag, but I stepped in front of him.
"There's nothing in there that belongs to you, and you know it."
Klein pointed straight at my palms. "If you don't want me to yell, 'Hey everyone, look at Grey's hands,' then you're going to explain what's going on. Properly."
I narrowed my eyes and clenched my fists. I didn't need to fight him. He wasn't going to be useful to me anymore, but the last thing I wanted was a crowd staring at the runes on my hands.
I gave a short nod. Klein smiled innocently and left the classroom, holding out a hand as if to invite me along. Instead, I shoved it aside and made sure I walked ahead of him.
"I'd rather talk about this in the bathroom," I said.
"The this? Since when did you have a friend to talk about this with?"
I stopped and turned to glare at him. Klein was smirking, barely holding back laughter.
"Relax. I'm just joking."
I turned away and kept walking, but I could still hear him chuckling behind me. We finally reached the bathroom, but Klein grabbed my shoulder to stop me from going in.
"Class is about to start, and I'm not wasting my time getting chewed out by a teacher."
I frowned and shrugged his hand off. "Then why the hell did you drag me all the way here?"
He just laughed, which only made me more annoyed. We'd walked all this way for nothing, and now he was saying, "I don't want to be late." What a jerk.
Klein stopped laughing and straightened himself. "I just wanted to see you do something someone else told you to do. Thought maybe it'd chip away at your narcissism a bit. Is that so bad? Who knows, maybe if we keep it up, we'll fix that awful personality of yours."
I let out a sarcastic laugh, then took a long breath. "At least my personality isn't as boring as yours."
He flinched slightly. "What part of me is boring? I'm just someone who enjoys life."
I raised my hands in mock surrender and grinned at his flustered face. "Exactly. What part of a person who loves helping everyone isn't boring?"
"What's wrong with helping people? I just do what I think is right."
I chuckled. "And that's exactly why you're boring."
Klein gave me an annoyed look. He opened his mouth to argue, but stopped mid-breath and looked past me.
Curious, I turned around. Raya was walking toward us, smiling and waving.
Raya Marin
The number of purple particles was increasing with every passing second. I knew they had been there long before I started seeing them. What I didn't understand was why now? Why could I see them only at this moment and not before? These were questions that needed to be asked, and answered.
I stepped closer to the mirror in front of me and stared at my reflection. My hair was neat but demanding to maintain, my eyes a deep blue that could seem almost intimidating. I slowly raised my hand and, with hesitation, touched the glass.
Several things happened at once. The purple particles suddenly aligned, the mirror warped, and my reflection changed. I was no longer looking at myself.
Something — or someone — else was there.
It had hair the same shade of blue as mine, but unlike mine, it was translucent. Its eyes were both a piercing violet, and its body shimmered with those same purple particles. Beyond that, its form was impossible to make out, as if it existed but I couldn't fully see it.
The figure in the reflection was touching the mirror with its hand, just as I was. From its palm, the particles flowed outward, and it felt as though my own hand was drawing them in. I tried to pull away but couldn't — my hand was locked in place. I couldn't feel it or move it.
Only when the reflection pulled its own hand back did I manage to do the same. It straightened its posture, and I found myself doing the same, my body no longer my own. It was in control, as if the reflection was me.
The aligned particles began to scatter again, but that didn't last long. The moment the figure raised its hand, they lined up once more — and so did mine.
Fear consumed me. I couldn't stop it.
The being in the mirror began drawing all the purple particles toward itself, yet they remained fixed on the surface of the glass. Then, it moved its fingers. Just as I expected, my own fingers moved with it. With each motion, the arrangement of the particles shifted.
After some time, the figure stopped and pointed a finger at the glass. It was showing me something.
Within the mirror, hundreds — perhaps thousands — of particles had been arranged into a single word.
"Aether."